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Wire Wheels 101 - Hot Wires: Part IOEM And Accessories: How To Spot The Originals And Where To Buy The Copies Of The Hot Rod And Custom World's Most Enduring Wire Wheel From the November, 2008 issue of Street Rodder By Chris Shelton Photography by Bruce Donelan, Chris Shelton, Damon Lee, Jerry Chinn, Rally America, Tom Benford, Wheel Vintiques
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The wire wheel has to be the greatest relic of the automotive world. Sure, it's superior to the wood-spoked carryovers from the prior generation's motorized carriages, but the disc-type wheel that superseded the wire pretty much stole its thunder. And that happened in the first quarter of the last century. Anymore, the wire is heavy, maintenance intensive, and wildly outdated. Still, it's a perennial favorite. And for good reason, really; on the right car, nothing beats the proper wire wheel. This isn't just opinion, either. As history shows, each generation "discovers" the mystique in the glint of the spokes. When that happens, the wire evolves to suit the times. As a result of this evolution by revolution, we have a pretty vast array of vintage wire wheels from which to choose-and all of 'em have appeared on at least one hot rod or custom over the years. Since popularity goes hand in hand with value, old wires are the old-car world's gold standard. Second only to wear, the worst thing against old wires is the relative lack of reliable knowledge. Even that has its reasons; it seems anybody who attempts to define these wheels meets certain doom-or at least scorn from those who seem to know better. Ron Ceridono certainly found out in his Nov. '01 "Shop Manual" entry regarding early Ford wires. A little oversight regarding some adapter rings they require when used on later hubs initiated a fecal tempest that took until the Apr. '02 issue to clean up. This time, we armed ourselves for bear. Among the resources we mined was Jimmy McLean. If you have roots in this industry, the name should sound familiar. It's because Jimmy's dad, Gary, established his mark several times in the hot rod, custom car, lowrider, and luxury car market with several wire wheel brands including, among others, McLean, Sharp, and his latest, Rally America. As it turns out, you learn a lot about old wires while scouting for your ol' man's wheel shop. Though Jimmy's just barely old enough to buy a beer, his knowledge far exceeds his years. Combine his observations with those of Mike Stallings, the chief over at Wheel Vintiques, and you've got a body of knowledge and experience that's pretty hard to dispute. Going into this, it seemed pretty simple to categorize the whole body of popular wire wheels, but as we learned, there are more details than you'd think. It's for that reason that we broke this work into two pieces. With this installment, we'll catalog the finer points of the OEM and specific-fit accessory wheels. Next month, we'll dig into the aftermarket. V-8 Ford And Accessories
If photos taken before December 7, 1941, serve as any indication, the wheels for a proper hot roadster were designed for '32-35 Fords. Though the technically superior '40 wheel was available for two years prior to that date, the cars weren't yet old enough to populate boneyards in sufficient numbers to make their parts affordable. Lowest on the totem are the factory Ford rollers and the 17- and 18-inch accessories. But, the kings of the hill were-and still are-the 16-inch accessories. Due to their size, many assume they were intended for '35s, but it's been said that the majority of these wheels were intended to "upgrade" '32-34 Fords to 16-inch tires. Though anecdotal, it makes sense; due to the auto industry's almost universal adoption to that diameter by the late '30s, there existed a vast array of tire sizes and styles. With those 16s, there was also the promise of better ride and traction: Overall tire diameter being equal, a tire with a smaller wheel diameter has a wider tread and fatter sidewall. If that really was a popular objective, it may explain the existence of the rare 15-inch Kelsey Hayes wheel, a non-standard diameter for the era that would've used what was called at the time a balloon-type tire.  With its 18-inch diameter...  With its 18-inch diameter and closed-hub center, the '32 Ford wheel was a radical departure from the Model A and T designs. Hallmarks of all Ford V-8 wires, whether the 18-inch '32, the 17-inch '33 and '34, or the 16-inch '35, include a 5x5-1/2 bolt pattern and 32 straight-ended spokes welded to both the hub and rim. Even though several vendors, including Kelsey Hayes, produced this wheel design for Ford, Rally America's Jimmy McLean said to resist the urge to call them anything but a Ford wheel.  While this crusty example...  While this crusty example is a 17-inch wheel like the ones Ford used on the '33 and '34 vehicles and was actually made for a Ford, it never officially came on a Ford. It's an accessory made by Motor Wheel Corp., not to be confused with wheel distributor Motor Wheel and Rim. The company offered them with either riveted or adjustable spokes in 16- to 18-inch diameters as a more robust version of OEM wheels. Now, here's a curiosity: Like a Ford wheel, the 17- and 18-inch wheels had 32 spokes; however, the 16-inch wheel had 36. At least in 16-inch form, they approximate the Kelseys look well enough to fool most people, but they cost considerably less.  Above and beyond supplying...  Above and beyond supplying Ford with its 32-spoke welded wheels, Kelsey Hayes offered its own line of accessory wheels-disc and wire alike-in various diameters for many makes. Like a Motor Wheel, they have either riveted or adjustable spokes; however, unlike those wheels, these wheels' spokes number 40. Like a '35, this one's a 16-inch model, the most desirable by the hot rod market for decades. If you find 'em, be prepared to pay.  The wheels that came on Fords,...  The wheels that came on Fords, whether made by Kelsey, Budd, or Ford itself, have straight spokes welded directly to the hub and rim. They're laced in what's called a single-cross pattern, meaning each spoke crosses only one other spoke. The gap between the rim and hub measures 2 7/8 inches on an 18-inch '32 wheel, 2 1/8 inches on a 17-inch '33-34 wheel, and 1 5/8 inches on a '35 16-inch wheel.  Motor Wheels, like Ford wheels,...  Motor Wheels, like Ford wheels, feature a single-cross spoke pattern; however, they're not welded. Instead, Motor Wheel (and Kelsey Hayes) butted the hub ends of the spokes, needled them through dimpled holes in the hub, and fastened them to the rim by either forming their ends into rivets or threading them to take adjusters. Both companies also reduced the diameter of the rim center, thereby narrowing the hub-to-rim gap. Though the design isn't unique to Motor Wheel, those gaps are. It's 1 1/4 inches for a 16-inch wheel and 2 1/2 inches for a 17-inch wheel, but unfortunately we didn't have an 18 to measure.  With one exception for the...  With one exception for the 15-inch wheel, Kelsey Hayes employed what's called a two-cross pattern. It improves a wheel's ability to deliver torque, since a wheel laced in a greater cross count loads each spoke closer to its most effective direction: along its length. Theoretically, it also improves a wheel's ride quality, since the design increases the spoke length and longer spokes flex more readily. The hub-to-gap diameters are roughly a quarter-inch narrower than those of a Motor Wheel due to a slightly larger hub.  Spoke and cross count aside,...  Spoke and cross count aside, there's another pretty foolproof method to distinguish a Motor Wheel from a Kelsey: dimple direction. Jimmy pointed out that the dimples on the Motor Wheel point outward, or away from the lug nuts. Ever wonder what the bent-spoke reference comes from? According to Jimmy, the double-hit riveting process employed by both Kelsey Hayes and Motor Wheel required that each spoke meet the rim perpendicularly. One hit bent the rim end of the spoke; the other hit mushroomed the tip.  The dimples on the Kelsey...  The dimples on the Kelsey wheel point inward, or toward the lug nuts. This is technically a better way to dimple a wheel, because the tension on the spoke forces the dimple in on itself. It's like a press-nut in a way. The problem is that the protruding spoke heads protrude into the hub. To remedy that, Kelsey just made the hub slightly larger-hence the gap difference between Kelsey and Motor Wheel wheels.  These manufacturers produced...  These manufacturers produced similar wheels for many car makers, but the ones made for '32-35 Ford cars are unique: They register on five raised bosses (arrows) cast into the hubs or drums just inboard of the wheel studs. They serve as part of the hub-contact area; the area immediately around the mounting holes will deform without them. In the best-case scenario, the wheels will constantly loosen; eventually, they will crack.
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